Materials in this Collection

The various items in this Friendship Ablaze! collection have been designed to help a congregation carry out “friendship evangelism” – members inviting their friends to meet their Best Friend, Jesus Christ.

A variety of material is included so each church can select what will work best in their situation. The list below describes each item. As you select, however, note these two steps, often overlooked, which are actually essential for any church planning outreach events.

1. Prepare to welcome your guests.

You don’t invite people to your home without considering whether or not your home is ready to receive them. When we want to make a good impression, we make sure that our home is clean, that we have refreshments to offer our guests, and that we will be ready when they arrive. When we invite our friends to our church, we first need to get ready to receive them. Make sure that you read and use “Welcoming Guests Well” as part of any Friendship Ablaze! activity.

2. Follow-up

A friendship evangelism event is not over when it is over. Any event or ministry which attracts guests is not the end of the church’s work. It is the beginning. Building a relationship with the guest through thoughtful, planned contact following the event is important. Before planning your actual Friendship Ablaze! event, use “Developing an Intentional Follow-up Strategy” to plan the follow-up steps that will work best in your situation.

Here’s a brief description of each of the many Friendship Ablaze! items in this collection:

Planning Guides

These three planning guides walk you through the three major components that need to be planned.

Welcoming Guests Well--step by step instructions on how to get ready to welcome guests, a key part of any plan.

Developing an Intentional Follow-up Strategy—step by step instructions regarding a second key step, that of following up on the people who come as guests. Includes a survey you might want to have guests complete, and also suggestions for further reading.

Planning Guide for Friendship Sunday—Friendship Sunday is the day members bring their unchurched friends to worship. This guide walks you through the preparation for this event.
 
Worship

Many items are included for a Friendship Sunday series, and for a friendship evangelism emphasis throughout the year.

Materials for a 4 week series culminating in Friendship Sunday. For each week, a sermon outline, a PowerPoint presentation supporting the sermon, and a Children's Message are provided.

• The four-week plan
• Week One items
• Week Two items
• Week Three items
• Week Four items

Supporting Items

• Drama/illustration/movie clip resources—where to find these resources; information on licensing to use copyright material
• Prayer bulletin inserts—half page bulletin inserts encouraging prayer support for Friendship Sunday
• Sample invitation card for adults to use 
• An invitation children can use.
• Flower Tags for use in week two Children's Message

Additional Worship Resources

Seasonal Friendship Ablaze! sermons  

• Summer
• Start of Year
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• Easter

Bulletin notes—short paragraphs to put in the bulletin regarding Friendship Sunday

Bible Studies

Five Bible studies on Friendship Ablaze! for individual or group use

1. Getting Ready for Friendship Ablaze!
2. Friendship Ablaze! Prays
3. Friendship Ablaze! Reaches Out
4. Friendship Ablaze! Has a Message
5. Friendship Ablaze! Does Unsolicited Acts of Kindness

Prayer

Prayer is another key component as we seek to introduce our friends to Jesus. Two items are included:

Prayer plan -- a tool to be used by individuals or groups to grow their prayer life. A sample Prayer Journal page is included.

Prayer vigil—plans for a congregational prayer vigil in support of the Friendship Ablaze! event. Samples of Prayer Request cards and a Prayer Vigil Folder are available.

Assimilation

Is your congregation ready to assimilate guests into the life of the church? The Assimilation Guide covers all aspects of the process. The following items are part of the Assimilation package and are described in the Guide.

• Volunteer Ministries Process Checklist
• Opportunity for Service Description, Assimilation Task Force
• Life Line Chart
• Life Line Chart Handouts
• Assimilation Resources

Schools

These items offer practical resources for helping children's ministries and parochial day schools focus on outreach.

• Children’s Ministry Ablaze!  
• Why a Lutheran School?
• Lutheran Schools Sharing Jesus
• How to be Visitor-Friendly
• Visitor Flow Chart
• How Schools Impact Non-Members
• Ministering to Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs
• Sharing the Faith Suggestions for Public School Teachers
• Directory of Welcoming Schools
• Evangelism in Lutheran Schools
• Resources for Lutheran Schools

Supplemental Resources

Further resources to support your Friendship Ablaze! emphasis

• Emerging Church Evangelism Resources on the internet
• Effectively Reaching Your Community--how to obtain information about your community and use it for outreach
• Links to resources on Spiritual gifts, Groups Ablaze! (training for using small groups as an effective outreach tool), a list of congregations effectively reaching their community, and Prospect Keeper (a free database for follow-up on prospects).
• An “Andrew Principle” handout to help members identify and reach their friends
• How to be a People-Friendly Church, a PowerPoint presentation

Also in this section
Welcome
Welcoming Guests Well
Developing an Intentional Follow-up Strategy
Friendship Sunday Planning

For printer-friendly version, see "Planning Guides" in the Downloads library.